A Change of Heart
by McKinnon-and-Black-forever
Summary: What is she thinking? Spilling all her secrets to a man who is practically a stranger? However, as Lily glances over at him, she can easily see him becoming a friend one day. He's kind, understanding, and funny. Plus, Marlene says that he's a great guy. If Marlene approves, then Lily knows she shouldn't question her.


**_A/N: So this was written for the jily secret santa on tumblr. I have just now got around to posting it, but I hope you like it._**

Lily will never forget the day she was almost hit by a car. It was the day that changed her life forever. She remembers exactly what she was wearing. (Black leggings, her combat boots, a black skirt with six gold buttons down the front of it, a red sweater, a heavy brown coat, a black scarf, and a red beanie topped off with her beige shoulder bag.) She remembers exactly where she was standing when she noticed the car. (In the middle of the street while the snow rained down around her.) And she most definitely remembers who was driving the car.

"I am so sorry," the man apologizes for the hundredth time, as his car idles behind them. "I didn't even see you there and you must think I'm horrible driver, but really I'm not. Oh, you're probably going to sue me, too, which is a shame because you're rather pretty-"

Lily can't help it. She lets out a giggle. "I'm not going to sue you. Now if you had made me spill my sugar cookies, we might have had a problem."

The man smiles—really smiles—and Lily looses her breath. He is beautiful when he does that because when he smiles, he smiles with his whole face. His hazel eyes light up, allowing her to see all of the swirling greens, golds, and browns that lay in those pools. His mouth crinkles with laugh lines that make him look young instead of old—like he has laughed a lot in his short lifetime. His brows unfurrow as concern lifts itself from his brow. Yes, he is most beautiful.

"I'm sorry," he says again, but this time lightheartedly. "I was rushing to get to my best friend's Christmas party."

"Me too," Lily replies with a smile. Then a thought occurs to her. "You wouldn't happen to be James, would you?"

He smile grows even bigger. "Why, yes, yes I am. Do I know you?"

She shakes her head. "No, but I know Sirius. He's dating my best friend, Marlene, though you wouldn't know it from the way he goes on about you. You'd think you were the love of his life."

James throws back his head and laughs, causing Lily to join in with him.

"Well, he's certainly not the love of my life," James tells her. "We are good friends though—more like brothers actually. If you wait here, I'll park my car and then I'll walk you up."

"Only if you promise not to run me over while I wait," she jokes. James just smiles at her before returning to his car and parking it. Then he's back at her side and Lily can't help, but smile. He holds the door to the apartment building for her as the grin on his lips widens. In the elevator, he tells her about how he and Sirius meant Marlene. It's very different from her version. A ding singles their arrival on Marlene and Sirius' floor.

"After you," James says as he once again opening the door for her. Such a gentleman, she thinks. Once she steps through the door, Marlene spots her immediately. Her blonde friend rushes over and almost squeezes the life out of her.

"Lils, I thought you couldn't make it," Marlene says as she finally allows Lily to breath.

"Change of plans," she explains as Marlene takes her sugar cookies.

"I see you've met James." Marlene glances back at the tall man who is taking his coat off.

"You say that like it's a bad thing, Mars," James retorts.

"Maybe that's because it is," she teases. "Sirius said to tell you as soon as you got in that you're needed. I don't know what for, but as long as you don't break anything this time, I don't really care."

James winces then disappears to find his best mate.

"What do you think of him?" Marlene asks once James is out of earshot.

Lily shrugs. "I'm not sure yet. I just met him."

"I think you'll like him."

* * *

"Here you are, love," Marlene says with a smile as she hands Sirius a drink.

"Thanks," he replies, his arm wrapping around her waist and holding her snugly against him. "What's this for? Did you wreck my bike or something?"

"I can't do something nice for you just for the sake of doing something nice for you?" Marlene glares at him.

"No, you can't. Sorry," he says, not sounding at all apologetic. "What do you want?"

Marlene glares at him a few seconds longer before finally giving in. "Did you see Lily and James come in together?"

Sirius shakes his head. "No, but James told me he almost hit her with his car."

"Not the point," Marlene continues. "Point is: wouldn't they be cute together?"

"Lily and. . . .James?" Sirius questions.

"No, Lily and the mailman," she snarks. "Yes, Lily and James."

"Doesn't she always say she's too busy with work to have a boyfriend?" he reminds her.

"Well, yeah," she scoffs. "But James would be good for her."

"And Lily?" he asks with a smirk. "Does she think James will be good for her, too?"

"She will."

"Remind me why you're telling me this again."

"Because in the event that something horribly tragic happens to me, someone has to make sure those two get together."

"Ok, Marls, whatever."

* * *

"Marlene, pick up the phone, dammit," Lily curses under her breath. As she was coming home from work, her car, which had lasted her a good five years, decided to break down—just stopped working right in the middle of the road. Luckily, she was able to get it to the shoulder of the road so her wasn't just sitting in the middle of the road for some person to ram into. She had already called the tow trunk, but really didn't want to take all night getting home. So that's why she decided to call Marlene.

Of course, knowing Marlene, she probably wouldn't look at her phone for the next hour.

Sighing, Lily pulls up iMessage and texts her a message about where she is and that she needs her fucking best friend to come and get her. Not five minutes later she gets a call, but not from Marlene—from Sirius.

"Sirius, where's Marlene?" Lily asks as soon as her phone connects.

"She's at work, love," Sirius explains. "Don't get your knickers in a twist. James is coming to pick you up."

"What?!" Lily exclaims. "James as in your best friend James? Sirius, I only just met him! Did he tell you he almost hit me with his car?! I'm not getting into one with him! Why can't you come and get me?"

"Well, I guess-ouch! I mean, I'm busy. . .with work." Annoyance seeps through Sirius' voice, but Lily knows it's not directed at her. It's directed at whatever poor soul is there with him.

"Are you cheating on Marlene?" Lily asks.

"What?!" Sirius squawks. "No!"

"Well, it doesn't sound like you're at work," Lily comments.

"I am and I assure you there is not another girl near me."

"What about a guy?"

"Ah, Evans, you know I don't swing that way."

"Whatever," she mutters. "If I die, it's your fault."

With that, she hangs up her phone and waits from James. It's not that she doesn't like him; it's just that she doesn't know him. And what kind of person picks up someone they don't even know? That is a question Lily has no answer for. Finally his car pulls onto the shoulder of the road.

"Hey there, stranger," he greets her as he climbs out of his car.

"Hello," she replies, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry Marlene and Sirius roped you into this. I wouldn't just called someone else if I had known they were busy."

"Nonsense," James waves her off. "It's no trouble. What's wrong with your car?"

Lily sighs. "I don't know. It's got to be something serious because I've checked all the minor stuff and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong there."

"You know about cars?" he asks, surprise filling his voice.

"Well, I'm not a complete idiot," she laughs.

"Are you sure?" he asks, not knowing whether to believe her or not.

"I'm positive," she answers. "The tow truck will be here to pick it up soon enough and I'll have it fixed then."

James shrugs. "If you say so. Hop in and I'll take you home."

"Do you need my address?" she inquires as she opens the door to his car.

"Nah, Sirius texted it to me."

Surprise rings through Lily's blood. Of course, Sirius had told her that James was going to get her, but she hadn't realized he'd been so free with her information. Quickly, she shakes the feeling off. It's just an address and James certainly isn't a stalker. (She hopes.)

"You hot or cold?" he asks once he's behind the wheel.

"I'm good actually," she answers.

"How'd your car break down?" he inquires as they pull onto the road.

"I'm not sure," Lily explains. "It just gave out on me. Like I said, I'm not sure why, but it did. I swear a I checked everything twice, but I couldn't find anything wrong with it."

James nods. "How do you know so much about cars anyway?"

"Oh, well, my dad was a machine," Lily explains. "He taught me and my sister everything we needed to know in case something happened to our cars, and the repair man couldn't try to cheat us out of our money."

"Your dad sounds like a smart man," he replies.

"He was," she mutters.

"Was?"

"Yeah, he died about two years ago from lung cancer."

Sympathy fills James' face as he makes a turn into town.

"I'm really sorry, Lils," he mutters. "That must have been really hard for you."

Lily nods, trying not to choke up. "It was. He was like my light, you know? My guide. Then he was just gone. And I remember the night before. It was the last time I saw him. I thought he was starting to get better, but the next morning, he had passed away. I'm sorry. You probably don't want to hear all that."

What is she thinking? Spilling all her secrets to a man who is practically a stranger? However, as Lily glances over at him, she can easily see him becoming a friend one day. He's kind, understanding, and funny. Plus, Marlene says that he's a great guy. If Marlene approves, then Lily knows she shouldn't question her.

"No, it's alright," James assures her as he pulls into a parking space in front of her flat. "I don't mind. Besides, you're Marlene's best friend. If I wasn't good to you, she'd kick my arse."

Lily laughs. "Thank you for driving me."

James nods before she gets out of the car. With a smile, she starts up the steps to her flat. Right before she's about to push the door open, James calls her name. She turns around to find he's already gotten out of his car and is standing a few steps below, his bottom lip between his teeth. Lily thinks it might be the cutest thing she's ever seen.

"Look, Lily, I. . .I don't know you well, but I'd like to," James tells her, running a hand through his messy hair. "Would you go out with me?"

Her face falls as he finishes the question. "Oh, James. I. . .I can't. My career is just starting to go somewhere and I really don't have time for a boyfriend."

"Oh, right, of course," he mutters. "I'm sorry. If I had known, I wouldn't have asked."

He continues to apologize as he backs down the steps. Immediately, Lily knows this is a bad idea. Sure enough, as he goes to step down one of the steps, James looses his balance and falls backwards before Lily can so much as warn him. He lands on his butt and Lily is right there next to him in an instant.

"Oh, James, are you ok?" she asks.

"Yeah, just. . .a little sore," he winces.

"Oh, I'm so sorry you fell down the stairs," Lily mutters. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No," he answers. "I'm fine, really. I just need to find my dignity. I think it's laying over there. Would you fetch it for me?"

Lily laughs. "So you really are ok?"

"Yes."

* * *

"So," Marlene says as she plops down on the couch.

"So?" Lily replies, grabbing some of Marlene's popcorn.

"What'd you think of him?" she urges.

"Who? James?" Lily asks, her mouth full. "Same thing I thought of him last time. Why?"

"Because you two would be perfect together," Marlene explains.

Lily raises her eyebrows. "I doubt it, Mars. We just met and I don't have time for a boyfriend."

Marlene snorts. "Why? You could handle both."

"I don't need the distraction," she answers calmly. "It takes a lot to maintain a relationship. Besides, I don't even know him that well."

"You could get to know him," Marlene whines. "Work isn't everything."

This stings Lily. Lily worked hard to earn her degree in journalism. The school she went to had an intense program that made her work her butt off every day. After graduating early, she did her best to find the job of her dreams. When she did, she wanted nothing to distract her so she swore off dating for a while, at least until she got completely settled into her job. Having Marlene throw an almost perfect guy in her face isn't helping her situation.

"Hello! Earth to Lily!" Marlene shouts in her face.

"Sorry," she mutters, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

"James is funny and cute and he's really good with kids," Marlene says. "And don't interrupt me. We both know you'll want to have tons and tons of little lassies and laddies running around your house."

"James isn't my type, Marls," Lily sighs. "He's just. . . .I don't know. He's not my type. And being good with kids has nothing to do with anything."

"Liar!," Marlene exclaims. "And he's like the most dependable person ever."

Lily throws her a look. "You can't force me to date and as I said before, I'm not looking for a boyfriend. Now, are we going to watch Finding Nemo or not?"

Marlene pouts. "Fine."

* * *

When Lily's phone dings the first time, she ignores it. The second time it dings, she continues to ignore it. Finally on the third ding, she picks it up with an annoyed sigh on her lips. She has three texts from an unknown number. Apparently they're from James and Sirius gave him her number. Quickly, she adds his number to her contacts before replying.

 _Lily [3:42] yes you got the right number what do you need my help with?_

 _James [3:42] well its marlenes birthday this weekend as you know and im planning a surprise party for her. Sirius being the dick he is wont help me plan it so i was thinking that you could help me plan it if you have some free time_

A smile flies around Lily's face. The fact that this boy is planning a surprise party for his best friend's girlfriend makes her tingle all over with sweet feelings. She almost regrets telling Marlene that she wouldn't go out with him.

 _Lily [3:44] yeah of course ill help!_

 _Lily [3:44] what exactly do you need me to do?_

 _James [3:44] well what does marlene like? is there a certain color she hates?_

It goes on for hours—James asking Lily questions about what Marlene would like and them planning out things for the party. By the time Lily stops texting him, she realizes she is at her house and it's nearly seven o'clock.

Lily checks her reflection in the mirror one last time. She thinks she looks alright. Her skirt is nice and one she hasn't worn much before. She ironed her shirt five times to make sure she got all the wrinkles out. Her shoes don't have a spec of dust on the them. She knows she shouldn't be worried so much about her appearance. It's just James after all.

They had agreed that they would go out today and shop for Marlene's birthday party.

For some unknown reason, nervousness has decided that now is the perfect time to knot itself in her belly. Lily nearly jumps a mile high when the door bell rings. After glancing in the mirror one last time, she heads to the door and pulls it open.

"Hello," James greets her with a grin. "Are you ready to do some shopping?"

"Absolutely!" she replies as she shuts the door and steps out into the hallway.

"You're going to have to direct me toward what Marlene likes," James tells her as the head out to his car.

"I thought you'd know enough by know," Lily smiles as she slips inside his car. "You've been asking me questions nonstop for the past three days."

"Yes, but I want to make sure everything's perfect," he explains. "After all, any girl who has put up with Sirius for as long as Marlene has deserves to have a perfect party."

A smile crosses Lily's face. "I guess he's a handful then?"

James snorts. "If you haven't figured that out by spending five minutes with him, then you never will."

A laugh tumbles from Lily's mouth. "I had actually. I just wanted to make sure that I had the right idea."

"You're right," he agrees. "Sirius loves attention. He's one of those people who thinks that no publicity is bad publicity."

"Ah, I can see why Marlene likes him then," she mutters. "She was always drawn to people who were the center of attention."

"It's a miracle they're still together," James sighs.

Lily shrugs. "Sometimes people surprise you. Two people who you think would never be together are just perfect for each other."

"I'll give you that," he nods.

"Watch out for the old lady," Lily says as they pull into the parking lot of the Party City.

"I can see, you know," James mutters with a smirk.

She grins. "Well, obviously not very well."

He groans. "Come on! How long are you going to hold it against me?"

"Buy me a milkshake and I'll forget it every happened," she replies with a cheeky smile.

"Done."

Once they're parked, Lily hops out of the car and they head toward the store, chatting about what exactly they should get for Marlene's party. When they walk through the front door, they're overwhelmed with choices. Lily's jaw nearly hits the floor.

"My mum recommended this place," James mutters as his eyes dart around. "I had no idea it was so big."

"Your mum must be a superhero to be able to navigate this place," Lily murmurs. "Where should we start?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," he replies with a shrug.

They end up starting in the banners section.

"How about this?" James asks as he lifts up a streamer that says 'She's 50 and Fabulous! Happy Birthday!'

Lily laughs. "Only if you want to get your arse kicked."

"You really think she should could kick my arse?" James replies with a raised eyebrow.

After giving him a once over, she nods. "Yes, I do."

A hand flies to James' heart. "I'm hurt."

"You should be thankful. I'm saving your arse."

"Well in that case, thank you."

Lily smiles and continues to browse on, a smile on her face at James' antics. He always suggests the most ridiculous things and Lily can't help, but laugh when she sees them. Part of her is beginning to understand why Marlene things he'd be good for her. He's funny and sweet and Lily has a tendency to take things too seriously at times. Shaking her head, she puts those thoughts out of her mind. She needs to focus on her job, she reminds herself.

"You alright?" James asks her. "You look like D-day is here."

"I'm fine," she replies, forcing a smile. "Just thinking."

"Well, don't think about the sad stuff," he tells her. "Think about puppies."

She laughs. "Puppies?"

James nods. "Yeah, that's what I always think of whenever I'm down."

"I'm not down."

"But you were."

"I was not."

"Yes, you were."

"Why don't you just shut up and hold this?" she says, stuffing a sombrero into his hands.

"If Marlene wouldn't like my banner, I'm positive she won't like this," James mutters.

"It's not for Marlene," Lily tells him. "It's for you. So I'll be able to find you if we somehow manage to get separated."

"Texting wouldn't be appropriate, I take it."

Lily shrugs. "This is more fun."

At that, James just laughs. He places the hat on his head afterward and she's sure that he gets lost twice on purpose and once they get separated for real and Lily has the hardest time locating him. In the end, they use their cellphones to text each other. When they're finally done shopping, which led them to buying only a few things, they head back out to the car.

"You know, I don't think I've had that much fun in a store before," Lily remarks as they're putting the things they've bought in the backseat.

"That's because I'm a master at causing mayhem," James replies. "And mayhem is always fun."

"I think that depends on who you're asking," she laughs.

He shrugs in reply. "Once a Marauder, always a Marauder."

"A what?" she questions.

James shakes his head, his gaze trained on the ground. "Nothing. Just something the boys and I came up with."

"Well, what is it?" she pursues the question.

"You'll think it's stupid," he mumbles.

"I promise I won't."

"It's what we called ourselves. The Marauders. Me and Pete and Remus and Sirius."

"That's not stupid," Lily assures him, trying to remember where she has heard that name before. "It was about belonging to something, right? Something other than family. Like a family you choose?"

Finally, James looks up at her. "Yeah, it is."

"Is?" she asks.

He shrugs. "We may or may not still call ourselves that."

A laugh rumbles out of Lily. "Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

Marlene's party is tonight and Lily is so nervous she feels like she might throw up. It's not because of Marlene or the party, but this nervousness keeps coiling itself inside her stomach and she's not sure what to do about it. She's tried several things to make it go away, but none of them work. So she settles for going to the party with knots in her stomach.

"How's everything coming?" Lily asks James when she arrives at the flat.

"Good," James answers with a smile. "Do you think it looks like a speakeasy?"

Because Marlene is a history buff, she loves all things historical. When they'd been planning her party, Lily had remembered that Marlene mentioned that she was reading about the Prohibition in the Untied States. After Lily had done a little research, she'd found out about speakeasies, which were illegal establishments that sold alcohol in the 1920s and 30s. James and Lily had done their very best to make the flat look as close to a speakeasy as they could. Lily thinks they did a rather good job.

There are a couple of booths spread out around the flat. They've set up a little bar in the dinning room where Remus is mixing up different drinks. The food is in the kitchen and Peter is the most fantastic cook Lily's ever met. They've moved the couch and sat a table in the living room so people can place their gifts there. All in all, it's coming together nicely.

Now if only the birthday girl would get here.

"When did you say Sirius was bringing her over?" Lily asks James for the fifth time.

He snorts. "He was supposed to be here ten minutes ago, but knowing Sirius they probably stopped to have sex."

Lily gags. "That's disgusting. I did not need to know that."

James shrugs. "You asked."

That's when they hear a scream.

"What did you guys do?!" Marlene exclaims as she looks around at her flat and friends. "This is amazing!"

"You like it?" Lily inquires, grinning.

"It's a speakeasy! Of course, I love it!" she replies. Lily just shakes her head as she watches Marlene flip out. Only her geeky friend would get it.

"At least she likes it," James mutters in Lily's ear as he watches Marlene.

A shiver runs down Lily's spine. She doesn't realize how tall James is until this moment. He's nearly a head taller than her and for some annoying reason, that's attractive. Like 'I wanna jump your bones' attractive. Lily shakes off the feeling and turns her attention to her friend who is walking over to her.

"Lily, this is amazing!" she tells her before wrapping her in a hug. "Thank you so much."

"It wasn't my idea," Lily explains. "It was James'."

"Of course, it was," Marlene says with a smile before hugging James.

She will never admit it, but Lily feels a slight tinge of jealousy when Marlene hugs James. She'll never be able to hug him so freely after he asked her out and she turned him down.

* * *

"Seriously, Lily, ask him out," Marlene exclaims.

"I'm not asking him out," Lily replies, annoyance slipping into her voice as she types up a text to James. They've been texting ever since Marlene's party and he never fails to make Lily laugh. "I've told you five times that I have to focus on my job."

"Are you always going to have to focus on your job?" Marlene inquires.

Lily sends her another annoyed look. "What kind of question is that? I want to make a good impression on my boss."

"That doesn't mean you have to dedicate every minute to him," she shrugs. "And you didn't say no."

"No. Are you happy?" Lily snaps as she tries to find a more comfortable position on Marlene's lumpy couch.

"No," Marlene whines. "I think you should date James. He'd be so good to you. Plus, he'd make you laugh and, damn it, Lily, how can you not see how perfect you would be together?"

"Because we wouldn't be perfect together?" Lily suggests. "Besides, I don't need any distractions right now."

Marlene rolls her eyes. "Please. that's a stupid excuse. Anyway, I saw you making heart eyes at James the other night."

This comment pulls Lily out of her phone. "I was not! We're just friends, Marlene!"

"Sirius said he asked you out."

"So what if he did?"

"I knew it was true! Why'd you say no?"

"Hmm, because I don't have time for a relationship? That's usually a good reason not to go out with a guy."

"But, Lily," Marlene cries. "You and James would have such cute kids!"

"Marlene, shut up and start the movie or I'm texting Sirius that photo of you with braces and that awful haircut."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

* * *

Most people assume that Lily doesn't like Sirius because he's so rambunctious and loud. However, that can't be further from the truth. Sirius is funny and sweet when he wants to be. Granted, he can be down right rude sometimes, but Lily doesn't mind. Rude is good when you've worked hard all day and need someone to take your mind off of your pissy job.

"Do you want strawberry or blueberry?" Sirius asks Lily.

"I think I'm going to try something new today," she answers. "Raspberry, please."

"You really don't have to do this, you know," Lily tells Sirius. "I can buy my own."

"No way," he replies, shaking his head. "After all, your day at work sounds like a killer. Buying you a treat is the least I could do."

"Where did you say Marlene was again?" Lily asks as the move to the side to wait for their scones.

"Shopping, I think," Sirius tells her with a shrug. "There's no food in the cabinet so I'm assuming that's where she went."

Lily snorts. "Do you do anything to help Marlene? Like, I don't know. . .clean?"

"Yes, I do, if you must know," he replies, flicking her nose. "In fact, I'm the clean one. Marlene's rather messy."

"I know," she recalls, crinkling her nose. "She's just so hyperactive and she never gets around to cleaning anything."

"That pretty much sums it up," he says as he takes their bag of scones. Luckily for Sirius and Lily, there's a perfect table open by the window.

"So what's up your boss's arse?" he asked.

Lily snorts. "What isn't? He's always a jerk, you know? But, of course, today is pick on Lily day. So he doubles my workload and makes me stay two extra hours just because he was in a bad mood. I was trying so hard to impress him, too. And to top it all off, a coworker spilled coffee all over the front of my blouse, the copier stopped working when I went to make a few copies of papers that were needed for a staff meeting, and I was late for that staff meeting."

Sirius winces. "That sounds rough, love. I can't believe he'd be that much of a prick. If you want, you could come get a drink with me and Marley tomorrow night."

"And be the third wheel? No, thanks," she declines.

"Well," he drawls. "It's not just me and Marlene. The boys are going to be there, too."

"The boys?" Lily asks, narrowing her eyes.

"Yeah," Sirius replies, not even the least bit moved by her suspension. "James and Remus and Peter."

"Did Marlene put you up to this?" Lily demands.

"Did Marlene put me up to trying to make you feel better?" Sirius questions. "No, she didn't."

"If this is some kind of set up-"

"It's not."

"Fine."

* * *

Lily enters the pub and slides her coat off her shoulders and folds it over her arm. She spots Sirius immediately, or rather she _hears_ him. Without fail, wherever she goes, Sirius is always the loudest person in the room. After sliding through the crowd, Lily finds her way to their table.

"Lils!" Marlene shouts. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Sirius invited me," Lily explains as she hugs a drunk Marlene.

"Surprise," Sirius calls from behind the girls.

Marlene quickly spins around and slides back into her seat next to Sirius. Lily takes the one next to James.

"Hello, Lily," he greets her. "Have you met the boys?"

"Remus, yes," Lily tells him. "And I've spoken to Peter in passing, but I don't think we've been properly introduced. Lily."

"Nice to meet you, Lily," Peter says as he shakes her hand.

"You too," she replies.

"Alright, enough of that," Sirius interrupts. "Back onto my story. . ."

So Sirius continues the story he was telling before Lily arrived. She nearly laughs herself silly as does everyone else who listens to Sirius. James chimes in every now and then, but other than that, Sirius goes on all by himself. Before she knows it, it's been a half hour and she's half way through her whiskey sour.

"Does he always go on like this?" Lily whispers to James as Sirius launches into another story.

"When he's drinking?" James replies with a question. "Yes. It's quite entertaining."

With a smile on her face, she leans back in her chair. Only then does she notices that James has swung his arm around her chair. It's innocent really. James is lanky and he needs room for his arms and legs so they don't cramp. It's innocent, and yet Lily finds herself shuddering. It's silly, she tells herself. There is no reason for her to be acting this way. Friends put their arms around each other all the time. Still, she excuses herself to the loo.

Once she reaches the restroom, she splashes water on her face and glances at herself in the mirror. She doesn't look like she's done anything wrong. So she concludes she hasn't, in fact, done anything wrong. With that in mind, she heads back to the table.

When she returns, she finds her drink has been refilled.

"I had it refilled for you," James explains when he sees her confused look.

"Oh, thanks," Lily sighs. "I thought I was going crazy."

James laughs. "Not at all. Do you have a ride?"

"A ride?" she asks, confused.

"Back home," he explains. "I assume you're not driving. I'm taking this lot home and if you needed me to, I could take you as well."

Lily smiles. "Actually I was just going to get a cab, but thank you for offering."

"Alright," he nods. "But if you do need a ride-"

"I'll call you," she assures him.

* * *

With a sigh, Lily puts the peanut-butter back where it belongs. Why doesn't an owner tell you before you rent a flat that's it's probably infested with termites? This is the first day of her seventy-two hour stay at Marlene's flat while hers is fumigated. It's not like staying with Marlene and Sirius is awful or anything, but why did it have to be her flat?

Sighing, she stalks to the door to answer it when the bell rings. Marlene is in the shower and Sirius is at work, so she's the only one available. Honestly, she doesn't even think of what she's wearing until she opens the door and sees who is standing there.

James raises his eyebrows when he sees her. Looking down at her outfit, Lily almost cringes. She's thrown on an oversized t-shirt of Sirius' while her clothes dry. Marlene didn't mind. In fact, she gave Lily the shirt. James, though, seems quite transfixed on it.

"My house is being fumigated," Lily explains when he still hasn't said anything.

"Fumigated? Right," he mutters. "Why are you wearing my shirt?"

" _Your_ shirt?" Lily replies. "Marlene gave it to be to wear while my clothes dried. I assumed it was Sirius'."

Of course, it is James' shirt. Lily should have known better than to believe Marlene would give her one of Sirius' shirts, especially since she could be super territorial over her boyfriend.

"It's alright," James tells her as he slides into the flat door while Lily stands there and plots her revenge. "I left it over here a while ago and probably never would have thought about it again until I saw you in it. Besides, it looks better on you than it ever did on me."

That comment causes Lily to blush to the roots of her hair. Finally, she's able to move again and shuts the door.

"Why is your house being fumigated?" James asks as Lily plops down on a chair.

"Termites," she replies. "It's funny how they never tell you these things before you move in."

James laughs. "That's probably because you wouldn't have moved in to begin with."

"Still," she huffs.

"I'm going to make something to eat," James tells her. "Do you want anything?"

She shakes her head. Somehow, between talking to James and laughing at his attempts to cook, Lily forgets that she's wearing his shirt.

* * *

"Yes!" Lily shouts as Remus and Peter groan. She's back in her own clothes now and kicking Remus and Peter's arses at Call of Duty. She can't remember which one it is exactly, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that she's winning.

"How did you get this good?" Peter asks in awe. "No one ever beats Remus."

Lily shrugs in reply, a sweet smile spreading across her lips. "I don't like to lose."

"So you got good at every game in the world?" Remus teases.

"Everything except Monopoly," she laughs. "I was never really good with money."

This earns her a laugh from both of the boys. Apparently, Thursday was the day that Sirius invited the boys over. Yet another thing, Marlene forgot to mention.

"Marley, come and get your arse kicked," Remus called. "I need a break before I lose all my pride."

Lily's laughs harder as Marlene hurries to finish in the kitchen so she can come and play.

"You've known Marlene a long time, huh?" Peter asks.

"Yeah," Lily answers. "We've been friends since we were kids. Same with you and the boys?"

Peter nods. "Yeah, they're the best friends anyone could ask for. Don't let Marlene tell you otherwise, either. They'd move the world for a complete stranger."

Glancing over at James, Sirius, and Remus, Lily doesn't doubt it.

* * *

Remus Lupin is a quite soul, who loves books. That's actually how Remus and Lily met; in a bookstore. He's almost read as many classics as she has. So, in honor of their first meeting, every month, Lily and Remus go out to a bookstore. Luckily for them, a new one has just opened up, and there's a coffee store attached to it, which pleases Lily.

She pushes the door open and steps in out of the cool air, thankful that it's warmer in here. She spots Remus immediately. He's over by the new books section. Briskly, Lily makes her way over to him.

"Hello, Lils," he greets her, a smile already growing on his face.

"Hey, Remus," Lily says. "Find anything good yet?"

"Hmm, maybe," he replies. "I'm not sure yet."

"Well, let's get to looking then."

So Remus and Lily scour the store from top to bottom, looking for books that look good and chatting about nothing in particular. Or at least, they do this until Remus brings up a subject that Lily would rather not talk about.

"So you and James. . . ." Remus doesn't finish his sentence, but the smirk on his face says enough.

"Oh, now you're going to imply something, too," Lily grumbles.

He shakes his head. "Nope. All I'm saying is that I saw the way that you two looked at each other."

Lily sputters. "I don't look at him any differently than I look at anybody else."

Remus hums. "Alright, Lily."

"Don't 'alright, Lily' me," she snaps. "There's nothing there and nothing will change that."

Remus just laughs. "Ok. How about some coffee before you turn as red as your hair?"

Lily growls under her breath, but agrees anyway. Why in the world did she have to get stuck with such annoying friends?

* * *

Finally, the three days is up and Lily can return to her house. She finds her flat smells a bit weird, but other than that it seems to be alright. She goes over to check her answering machine and finds two messages from Mary and one from her mother. The latter has her plans for the next week ruined.

Lily was able to get a week off for Easter this year and she was going to spend it with her mother, but her mother just called and said that she was going to Paris to spend it with Petunia because she hadn't seen her since last summer. She said that it was a last minute thing that Petunia had begged her to do, but Lily knew better. Petunia had done this on purpose. She'd known about Lily's plans and ruined them anyway.

With an annoyed sigh, Lily dials Marlene's number. She answers on the fourth ring.

"Still bugs in your flat?" Marlene greets her.

Lily snorts. "Worse."

"Worse?" she replies and Lily can hear the worry creep into her voice. "Is someone trying to break in? Do I need to send Sirius over?"

Lily laughs, failing to keep the tears out of it. "It's Petunia. My mother is going to see her for Easter even though we already had plans together. Really I should have seen it coming. This is what Petunia does. She tries to ruin my life with every chance she gets. I just don't understand how she can do this to her own sister. We were best friends, Marlene, best friends. I don't even know why I called you. I'm sorry, Mars."

"Oh, Lily," she sighs. "Petunia is a bitch—we all know that—but you shouldn't let something like that bother you. She's trying to get your goat. Don't let her. I've got an idea if you want to hear it."

"I always want to hear your ideas," Lily says softly.

"Well, Sirius and I are going up to the Potter's for Easter weekend and you could come if you want," Marlene suggests. "Now before you protest about putting them out, you won't. The Potters live in a mansion and love having people over, especially Mrs. Potter. You'll make her so happy, Lily. Come on. Remus and Peter are going, too. Please come! I need another sane person to talk to besides Remus."

Lily bites her lip and is silent. She didn't call Marlene for this reason—she wanted to rant about Petunia. Now though she is invited to join the Potters, and that is the last thing she wants. James is wonderfully sweet and all, but that doesn't mean she wants to spend the weekend with his family.

"Marlene, I-"

"No, Lily, don't say no," Marlene protests. "You have to say yes. Please. For me."

Lily sighs, a smile once again on her lips. "Alright."

* * *

Lily lets out a breath as she stares at the most intimidating house she's ever seen. It's two stories tall with a huge porch in the front. The yard is trimmed to perfection and the flowers in the front look like something out of a catalog. The siding doesn't even have a bit of dust on it. How did someone keep a house so big clean?

"Close your mouth, Evans," Sirius laughs. "You're starting to drool."

"Shut up, Sirius," Lily mumbles.

"It's not as intimidating as it looks," Marlene tells her.

"I don't see how that's possible."

Marlene laughs as they start up the walkaway. Lily wants to shrink back into her car and drive away while she has the chance. This is a bad idea, and she should have listened to her gut. Sadly, if she went charging down the walkaway, Sirius would catch her before she got to her car.

Marlene doesn't even knock on the door; she just pushes it open. Once inside the door, Lily is greeted with the living room and James Potter, who is smiling from ear to ear.

"Finally," he's saying. "I thought that you'd never get here."

"Traffic was bad," Sirius explains.

"Are they here, James? Is that Sirius I hear?" a lady's voice calls from another room in the house. Then said lady appears in the doorway. Lily swears she is the most beautiful lady she's ever seen. Her hair is pulled back into a bun on top of her head. She looks rather young, despite the fact that she raised James. And she has to be James' mother because she has the same hazel eyes and elegant-looking eyebrows, as well as the same hair color—a jet black that no hair dye could recreate. Her small mouth quirks into a smile as at the sight of them and she rushes over.

"Sirius, darling, it's been too long," she exclaims as she pulls him into a hug. "And, Marlene, it's lovely to see you as always."

"I could say the same thing about you, Euphemia," Marlene replies as she accepts a hug.

"And you must be Lily," she says as she spins to see Lily. A smile crosses the redhead's face and just as she's about to speak, she's pulled into a hug. "It is so nice to finally meet you."

Surprise sings through Lily's veins. She's never even meant this women, but she still receives a hug like she's already a part of the family. More than anything, that hug makes her feel welcome.

"I have heard so much about you," Mrs. Potter says. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name. James, get over here and take her coat. Honestly, I taught you better than that."

James, who is in a discussion with Sirius, rushes over as soon as he hears his mother's words. Lily really doesn't need help with her jacket, but she isn't about to go against Mrs. Potter. Something tells her that doing such a thing would be a very bad idea. So she lets James help her out of her jacket.

"Who wears a jacket in April?" he teases.

Lily smiles. "I get cold easily. Is your mother one of those women who makes sure that her son is the perfect gentleman?"

"How'd you guess?"

"I have my ways. Her talents are wasted on you."

"Is that so?"

"Yep. You're no gentleman, James Potter."

Before James can reply, a man enters the room. There is no doubt in Lily's mind that he is James' father. They match in almost every way, including messy hair, though James' is black while his father's is snow white. There are laugh lines around his mouth that make Lily think she knows where James got his sense of humor from.

"Well, it's a good thing you got here," Mr. Potter says with a joyful smile. "I was afraid James was going to throw himself out the window."

"Oh, Fleamont, don't tease him," Mrs. Potter scolds him, and Lily tries hard not to laugh at his name. "You know Jamie doesn't like being alone."

"Mum," James mumbles, blushing.

Mr. Potter laughs. "I do believe you've neglected to introduce me to someone."

Lily steps forward, extending her hand. "I'm Lily."

"Fleamont Potter," he replies. "Lovely to met you."

"And James didn't even take her coat," Mrs. Potter intrudes. "Can you believe that, Fleamont? And here I was thinking I taught him better."

"Yes, dear, that should be one of the seven sins, I'm sure," Mr. Potter says with a roll of his eyes.

"It's not something to joke about," she snaps with a slap to his chest, before she exits the room.

"Well, I expect she'll be mad the rest of the evening unless Sirius can manage to cheer her up," Mr. Potter sighs. Sirius just nods and follows after Mrs. Potter. "Now, the rest of you, how would you like to taste some wine that's about a hundred years old?"

* * *

"I like your parents," Lily tells James as they're standing out on the balcony, (Lily still can't get over the fact that his house has a balcony) sipping at that hundred-year-old wine that Mr. Potter promised them.

A smile lights up James' face. "They like you."

Lily bites her lip before broaching a subject that should have been broached a long time ago. "Listen, James, about when you asked me out. . ."

His head swivels toward her, and she pretends not to see the hope in his eyes. "What about it?"

"I just wanted to. . . .I don't know, tell you that I do like you, just not that way," she mutters, feeling stupid for even bringing it up. "I didn't want you to think that I didn't like you or anything like that. You're a great guy and I do like you because how can anyone not like you? You're funny and-"

"Lily," he interrupts, laughter in his eyes. "I know you don't dislike me."

"Oh." Well, now she feels stupid. Of course, he knows that. She hasn't given him any reason to believe otherwise. Stupid wine.

Looking over at James, Lily can finally see why Marlene says that she should date James. Seeing him now, Lily can picture herself with him. She can see herself _happy_ with him. Her chest fills with butterflies as James watches her, biting his lip. Then he looks away and the moment is broken.

"So you've known Marlene since you were young?" he says.

"Yeah," Lily answers, turning her gaze back to the garden below.

"How'd that happen?" James questions. "Did you grow up in the same town?"

"Not exactly," she tells him. "Marlene moved in with her foster family when she was nine. She lived right across the street from us and I remember always hearing shouting coming from the house. I was nine so I never thought to question it. I just assumed that her 'parents' were fighting. One day, she came running out of the house crying and ran to the park where I was playing in. I started talking to her and she told me about her foster parents always yelled at her and sometimes they hit her."

"What?" he whispers.

"Yeah," Lily mutters, shaking her head. "She was so afraid. I remember her shaking, saying she didn't want to go back. So I brought her home with me and told Mum and Dad that I was adopting her." Here, James laughs. "Yeah, I know, but at the time, I wasn't aware of what the adoption process consisted of. Mum and Dad were concerned obviously. They told me to go upstairs and said they wanted to talk to Marlene alone. She told them what happened, and Mum and Dad got her out immediately. They adopted her after that."

"Wow," James mumbles. "That's one hell of a story."

"Yeah," she replies. "I'm just glad that I found her. I don't want to think about what would have happened to her in that house."

"Then don't," he tells her. "You did find her and she's here—safe and happy."

"Do you always see the bright side of things?"

"I try to."

It's silent for a moment.

"Why do you always call Marlene your best if she's your sister?" James asks.

Lily shrugs. "A sister is someone you don't get to choose. I choose Marlene to be my best friend. I don't know. . . .sometimes, I think best friends have a closer relationship than sisters. It's nice. The thought that you can always have someone to count on, just because they care about you and not because you're related."

* * *

To be fair, Lily is preoccupied with the stain on the front of her brand new shirt. That's why she doesn't pay attention as she pushes the bathroom door open. When she looks up, she's met with a glasses-less James Potter with not a stitch of clothing on. They both freeze.

Lily's eyes go wide at the sight in front of her. He's wet—dripping wet from the shower. There are little droplets of water hanging in his hair and they run down, down, down to something she tries (and fails) to avoid looking at. (It's rather nice if the truth be told.)

"Shut the door," James suddenly says, drawling Lily's attention away from his body. And she does as he asks, only in the process she forgets to step outside of the door. She turns back around and is faced yet again with James bloody Potter.

"I'm sorry," she apologizes as she covers her eyes. "I am _really_ sorry."

"It's fine," he assures her. "I, um. . . .well this is awkward."

Lily moans. "Yes, it is. I'm really, really sorry. I was just coming in here to clean up my shirt I didn't know you were in here, or I wouldn't have come in."

"Obviously," James replies, and there's laughter in his voice. "It's alright. You can fix your shirt if you want. I don't care."

"No!" she nearly shouts. "It's fine. I'll wait." She bumps into the door as she's backing away, causing her to gasp.

"Are you ok?" he asks as he starts to move towards her.

"No, stay over there!" she tells him. "I'm fine. I just—ouch." She hits the doorknob with her hip as she continues to back away. "I'm fine. I'll wait. Finish, um. . . .doing whatever you were doing."

With that, the door shuts and Lily is free to open her eyes again. She knows she won't get that image out of her mind for a good, long while.

* * *

After seeing James getting out of the shower, Lily has steadily tried to avoid. It doesn't work so well because he knows this house like the back of his hand. So that's how James finds Lily, poking her head through doors and trying to find her way back downstairs.

"I'm not snooping," she exclaims when she sees him.

"I wasn't going to accuse you of snooping," he says with a smile. "How would you like a tour?"

"Of the house?"

"Of my town."

"What town?" Lily demands. "There is no town. All I saw was countryside when we drove up here."

"You just weren't looking hard enough," James replies with a smile. He grabs her hands and leads her through many twisting hallways that never seem to end. Finally, they reach stairs that led to the living room. Lily grabs her jacket before they head out the door, and James grabs his keys. They jump in the car and head down a back road Lily hadn't seen when they'd arrived.

"Is this where you're going to murder me?" she asks as they travel down a narrow road.

James laughs. "No. I'd be more creative about. Doing it in the woods is so cliché."

"Well, that's good to know," she replies, a smile gracing her lips.

In a few minutes, they clear the woods, and Lily is met with the sight of a cute little town that sets on the edge of the woods.

"It's so cute," she mutters looking out the window as they drive through the middle of it.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice," James says, turning into a parking lot. They both climb out of the car.

Lily isn't sure what the building is supposed to be. There's a sign on top of it, but most of the letters are chipped so she can't make it out. The exterior is wooden with only two windows in the front. If Lily had to guess, she would say the place was abandoned.

"Come on," James urges her, placing a hand on her back and guiding her toward the building. Once they enter, Lily sees that the building is not run down. In fact, it's quite nice. There are booths all around as well as a few tables. A bar sits at the back with a friendly looking girl behind it.

James leads her to a table and they slide in. "I know you didn't eat lunch so I though I'd take you out for some of the best food in the country."

"Are they really that good?" she asks as she picks up a menu.

"Yep," he replies.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asks.

He shakes his head. "I'm not really hungry, but I'll probably get a Butterbeer."

"A what?" she questions.

"A Butterbeer," he responds. "They're only made here because no one really likes non-alcoholic stuff, but you'd be surprised at how good it is."

Lily raises an eyebrow. "So it doesn't actually contain beer?"

"Nope," James tells her. "It doesn't. Do you want to try some?"

"Why not."

When the waitress arrives, James orders them two Butterbeers. Lily finally decides what she wants just as the waitress returns with their drinks. As she takes a sip, a sweet flavor hits her tongue. She can't believe this isn't popular anywhere else.

"This is amazing," she tells James.

"I know," he replies, wiping foam from his upper lip. "My mum got me one when I was thirteen and I've been hooked ever since."

"And they're not alcoholic?"

"Nope. So you can have them any time of the day you want."

"I think you just introduced me to the best drink in the world."

"You're welcome."

That earns him a shove to the shoulder. As James tells her the story of how he, Sirius, Remus, and Peter tried and failed to get the bartender to sell them alcohol when they were sixteen, Lily can't help but notice how easy it would be for her to fall for him. He isn't what she expected for Sirius' best friend. She expected some leather-wearing, crack-smoking boy, not this silly geeky thing. (It's a cute geeky, though.)

After their food is delivered and finished, James stands and offers Lily his hand. "Are you ready to see where I grew up?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replies as she takes it.

They head out the door to the next shop over, which is where James apparently used to plan all his pranks.

"And this is Mrs. Bagshot's house," he explains. "She's a good family friend so-"

"Wait. _The_ Bathilda Bagshot?" Lily interrupts.

"One and the same," James answers.

"Wow," she mutters, shaking her head. "She's such a good author. I bet she's an amazing person to talk to."

"Well, why don't you come and find out?" James says before pulling her up the walkway. Lily protests and yanks on his arm. He's halfway up the walkway before Lily manages to stop.

"James, I didn't mean I wanted to talk to her," Lily huffs. "I'm not even dressed properly for it. What would she think of me?"

"That you're beautiful," James responds without delay. Immediately, their eyes lock and Lily can barely tear herself away.

"Well, regardless, I want to see the rest of the town," Lily tells him.

The rest of the trip is less exciting, and Lily and James don't touch again.

* * *

Mrs. Potter is such a wonderful lady, and Lily refuses to let her cook dinner for them every night by herself. So that night Lily goes into the kitchen and offers to help her. Mrs. Potter says no of course, but Lily won't be deterred. So after ten minutes, Lily ends up cooking with Mrs. Potter.

"What is it you do, dear?" Mrs. Potter asks. "I don't think James ever mentioned it."

"Oh, I'm a journalist," Lily tells her. "I write about politics a lot."

"Well, dear, I must say I don't envy you."

"I wouldn't envy me either. But I love my job so."

Lily shrugs and Mrs. Potter nods.

"You're good for James, you know," she says. "He needs a girl like you."

Lily's heart drops into her stomach. "Oh, Mrs. Potter, James and I. . . .we're not together. Did he tell you that?"

"Oh," Mrs. Potter mutters, her eyes going wide. "No, but the way they all talked about you. . .I just assumed that you two were together. I'm so sorry. I should have asked before I just went off and assumed that."

"No, no, it's alright," Lily tells her. "You didn't know."

A timer goes off and they don't broach the subject again.

* * *

 _Lily steps into the bathroom with confidence this time. The water's running and steam is bouncing off the walls with no place to go. A smirk finds Lily's face as she strips out of her clothes. Once they're gone, she pulls back the curtain slightly and steps inside. James is surprised to see her, but she just smiles._

 _"And what exactly are you doing in here?" he asks coyly._

 _"I thought you could use some help," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck._

 _A smirk as devilish as her own crawls over his mouth. "Well, maybe I could use_ some _help."_

Lily jolts awake with an aching between her legs. What is wrong with her? Why in hell was she having a wet dream about James fucking Potter? Grumbling, she climbs out of bed to go take a cold shower.

She doesn't look James in the eye the next morning.

* * *

Back home, Lily returns to her normal life. And thankfully normal means no more dreams about James Potter. So Lily treats herself to coffee at her favorite shop that evening. Just as she's heading out the door with her second cup of the evening and a couple of muffins, she runs straight into James.

"Hey, Lily," he greets her as he steadies her with his hands on her upper arms. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Me?" she replies coyly. "This is my haunt, Potter. I suggest you get your own."

James laughs. "Alright, Evans. How about we share? Where are you headed, anyway?"

"Home," she tells him. "You?"

"Probably over to see Remus for a bit," James explains. "Wait for me and I'll walk you."

Before she can tell him she can walk herself home, James is already gone and ordering his own coffee. Lily stands by the door as he gets his drink. When he returns to her side, she smiles shyly and opens the door.

"You know I can walk myself home," Lily says.

"I know, but Mum told me never to let a lady walk home on her own," James replies. "She said that you never know what kind of creeps are out there."

"You know I can protect myself right?" she responds.

"Oh, it wasn't for the girl's protection," he explains. "It was for mine."

Lily bursts out laughing. James smiles as he watches her, and she can almost forget why she shouldn't be laughing—shouldn't be doing anything—with him—not like this. She needs to focus on her job, she reminds herself. But that doesn't mean can't have friends right? And that's all James is—a friend.

"Well, I assure you, you're well protected with me," Lily replies, taking a sip of her coffee. "I don't think anyone's ever told me where you work."

"Oh," James mutters, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Well, uh, you know the app The Marauders' Map?"

"Yeah, who doesn't?" Lily answers, remembering the last time she used the person locating device to find Marlene in a bar. "Are you going to tell me created it?"

"Well, no, not just me, Sirius, Remus, and Peter helped, too," James explains. "Working with codes and stuff isn't really that hard when you have a photographic memory so-"

"You have a photographic memory?" Lily interrupts him, shocked. "So wait you're not joking with me right now?"

"No," he tells her. "I have a photographic memory."

"So you remember everything you've ever read?" she asks.

"And everything I've ever heard," he adds. "I can recall full conversations I've had with other people."

"Wow."

"It's not as great as you think," he tells her.

"Oh, really?" she replies. "You never have to study for a test and you could memorizes all sorts of stuff within a few hours."

"Yeah, but I also remember all the bad stuff that happens," he reminds her.

"True," she says. "Still that must be really. . .I don't know, different."

James shrugs. "It is, but I don't really tell a lot of people that, so please don't go spreading it around."

"Oh, of course," Lily replies. "I wouldn't dream of it."

When they reach Lily's house a few minutes later, she is sad to see him go. With promises to see each other soon, Lily heads up to her flat and James to Remus' house.

* * *

Lily sees James much sooner than she expects. Well, she hears from him really.

It's the middle of the night and her phone starts to ring. Groggily, Lily grabs her phone and presses the talk button without looking at the caller ID.

"Someone better be dying if you're calling me this late," she says.

"Lily?" James replies. "Thank all that is good and holy that you answered. You need to come over to Sirius and Marlene's right now."

"What? Why?" Lily asks, already pulling on a pair of jeans. "What's going on?"

There is a crash in the background. "Watch it! That's my head! Sirius and Marlene are fighting and I can't get them to stop. Please, hurry. Before things get out of control."

"Alright," she mutters. "I'll be over as soon as I can."

With that, Lily hangs up the phone and marches out the door. It's a short walk from her building to her car, and she's on Marlene's road in no time. Taking the stairs two at a time, she reaches Marlene's floor in record time. The door is unlocked so she steps inside.

Sirius is on the couch holding a steak over his eye. Lily's mouth nearly drops to the floor. James comes into her line of view then. He nods to the closed bedroom door with a concerned look. Silently, Lily reaches the door and knocks softly.

"Marlene, it's Lily," she speaks quietly. "Can I come in?"

The only response she gets is the lock clicking. Gently, she opens the door and slips inside.

"Marlene, what's going on?" Lily inquires. "Sirius has a black eye. Did. . . .did you give it to him?"

"No," Marlene snaps, wiping at her eyes. "He got that at the bar."

"And?"

"And what?"

"And what happened?" Lily elaborated. "Why are you fighting?"

"He looked at his ex," Marlene mumbles darkly.

"And?" Lily prompts her.

"And what? He _looked_ at her."

At this point, Lily tries very hard not to snap at her friend. She gets the fact that Marlene has trust issues, but for Pete's sake, getting mad at Sirius for looking at a girl is ridiculous. Not to mention he looks at her like the sun shines out of her arse. Of course, Lily can't tell her that without getting yelled at, so she settles for another tactic.

"Marlene, I know how you are about trusting people," Lily begins. "But Sirius cares about you a lot. Don't you think that you should have some faith in the fact that he would be loyal to you?"

"No," she responds.

Lily sighs as she sits down next to her friend. "Mars, sometimes putting your trust in people is something that can't be avoided. It's like a leap of faith. If you don't take that leap, you'll be stuck where you are for the rest of your life, but if you do, it could change everything. I know it's hard for you, but what comes after is almost always ten times better than what you had before."

Marlene sniffs. "I don't want to jump. What if I fall?"

"Then you fall and you get right back up," she replies. "And you leap again."

"And it's worth it?"

"Yeah, it is."

Marlene nods. "Ok. I think you can head back home now. I'm sorry James had to call you."

"It's alright," Lily tells her. "You know that any time you need something you can give me a call."

With a quick hug, Lily departs the bedroom to find James sitting in a chair snoring while Sirius lies awake on the couch. He sits up when he sees her.

"You're welcome," is all Lily says before she leaves.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Marlene snaps. "We agreed that once the movie starts you can't look at your phone."

Lily sighs as she drops her phone on the couch. She is sitting on the lumpy couch in Marlene's flat as they watch Brave. However Lily can't get into the movie tonight.

"It's nothing," she answers.

"Liar," Marlene accuses as she flips the TV off. "What's up?"

"It's my boss," Lily tells her as she looks at her again. "I sent him my piece on the PM five hours ago, and he still hasn't said anything about it. I'm just worried is all. Usually he always something to say about the pieces we submit and answers us within an hour tops, but now he's not and I think I might have lost my job."

"Oh, well, um maybe if you did something to take your mind off it, you wouldn't worry about it as much," Marlene says.

"We are doing something, Marlene," Lily replies. "It's not helping."

"I didn't mean with me," she tells her. "I meant with James."

"Marlene!" Lily exclaims, nearly dropping her phone.

"What? You're friends, aren't you?"

"You weren't suggesting we do something as friends."

"Maybe, but I'll never admit it, either way."

"Shut up and start the movie."

* * *

About two months after Sirius and Marlene's spat, Lily gets a call from Marlene saying that they're going on trip to Scotland for a week and she needs someone to stay at her house. (Marlene always had this weird fear that someone was going to break into her house and steal something while she was away so she always made sure someone could come and stay there.) Of course, Lily agrees.

What she doesn't agree to is someone breaking into the flat while her friends are gone.

Lily is just sleeping peacefully on the couch when she hears movement across the floor. Slowly, she cracks her eye open and sees a dark silhouette moving through the dark flat. Quietly as she can, Lily rises from her place on the couch and grabs the first thing she can find, which happens to be a book. After standing up, she gets up behind the intruder and raises the book before bringing it down on his head with as much force as she can. With a howl, the man jumps back and begins to curse. Lily recognizes the voice. Quickly, she turns the light on.

"James?!" she exclaims.

"No, Santa Clause," he replies, rubbing his head. "What was that for?!"

"I thought you were an intruder!"

"And you thought the best way to get rid of an intruder was to hit him over the head with a book?"

"It was the first thing I could find," she snaps. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Marlene and Sirius wanted me to come and make sure you were ok," James tells her. "If I had known that coming to check on you meant getting hit with a book I might have just called."

"Why didn't they just call?" Lily asks.

"They said that they tried several times," James says with a shrug. "You were asleep so I was just going to text them and leave."

Lily snatches her phone from her purse. Indeed, there are several missed calls from Marlene and Sirius. She turns her phone over and sees that it's on silent. No wonder she didn't hear it.

"Well, I guess I hit you for nothing," Lily mutters.

"I could have told you that," James replies.

"Sorry."

"It's ok. At least now I can say I've been hit over the head with a book by the Lily Evans."

* * *

"Hello?" James answers his phone one the third ring.

"Have you ever heard of a girl's night?" Lily asks.

"Yeah," he replies confused. "Why?"

"Well, Marlene and I used to have one every Wednesday, but now we can't because she's not going to be here this week," Lily explains. "I was wondering if you wanted to come over instead."

"To have a girl's night?" James says, amusement lacing his voice. "But I'm not a girl."

Lily makes an annoyed sound. "Do you want to come over or not?"

"Be there in a bit."

The line goes dead and Lily returns to the living room to pick out a DVD. About thirty minutes later, the door opens and James slips inside.

"Do you have anything that you prefer?" Lily asks without looking up from her pile of DVDs.

"Um, I don't know," James answers. "It depends. What does Marlene have?"

"A bunch of stuff," she tells him. "Have you ever seen Oliver and Company?"

"No," he replies. "Have you made popcorn yet?"

"I don't know if they have any," Lily says. "You can go ahead and check."

As James does this, Lily sets Oliver and Company aside and puts all the other movies that she'd pulled out back on the shelf. By the time she's done, so is the popcorn.

"You ready?" Lily asks as she plops down next to him.

"Yep," he answers. "But you may have to hold me if there are any scary parts."

Lily rolls her eyes and elbows his side for that comment.

"That's the star of the show," she says when a small kitten appears on screen.

"Yeah, I got that," he replies, dropping some popcorn into his mouth. "How many times have you seen this movie?"

"Shh. There's no talking during the movie."

"You talked."

"I was giving you valuable information. You know, like a narrator?"

"Right, sorry."

By the end of the movie, James has his arms slung around Lily's shoulders as they argue about the movie.

"How could you not like the ending?" she demands, looking up at him.

"I don't know. . .it was just. . . .I didn't like it," he says. "Oliver should have stayed with Dodger. They were a team."

"Yeah, but Jenny loved him," Lily argues. "I think it was a perfect ending."

James rolls his eyes. "Whatever you say, love."

When the word 'love' slips from his mouth, Lily notices how close they are and that if they were in public, most people would consider them a couple. Quickly, she jerks away from him.

"You alright?" he asks.

"Yeah," she mutters. "I'm fine."

"Lily, you don't look fine," he says gently. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I just, um, think I left something on in the kitchen."

Jumping up, she heads into the kitchen to fiddle with the dials on the stove to make James think she actually did leave something on.

"I'm going to head out alright?" he tells her when she returns. "Are you sure you're ok?"

She smiles. "I'm fine."

"You can call me if you need anything. You know that right?"

"Yeah. Thanks, James."

With a grin, James departs, leaving Lily with a stomach doing silly flip flops.

* * *

Marlene invites Lily over to watch the football game the following Saturday that she and Sirius return. She almost says no when she finds out the boys are going to be there—that James is going to be there. However, she tries her best not let that fact get to her as she marches up the steps to Marlene's flat. Without knocking, she opens the door and is nearly deafened by the loud shouts.

"You're late," Marlene says matter-of-factly from her spot in the kitchen.

"Why aren't you sitting in the living room?" Lily asks.

"Because I'm not risking getting beer spilled on me," she explains. "Again."

"I said I was sorry," Remus calls.

This draws a laugh from Lily. After grabbing a beer from the counter, she heads over to the couch and plops down in between James and Sirius. (She swears it's because there are no other seats.) Sirius grunts but doesn't say anything else while James grins at her before turning back to the TV. Leaning back in her seat, Lily takes a long sip of her beer. It burns going down her throat, but that's ok; it feels good.

Half a beer later, Lily is jumping with the rest of them even though she never really cared for football. James slings his arm around her shoulders half way through the game, and she doesn't protest. In fact, she leans into him. Maybe it's the butterflies or maybe it's the alcohol running in her system, but she can't bring herself to feel guilty. Not when James makes her feel like she's never felt before.

Lily gets up to get some food from the kitchen because she knows if she keeps drinking she'll have a big time hangover tomorrow. She pulls some potato chips out of the cabinet and pours them in a bowl as James walks over to her.

"Marlene said you didn't like football," he says, grinning.

"Well, Marlene's wrong," Lily replies. "I like it just fine. Even if it did almost run me over with a car."

James smirks. "And I'm sure it likes you even if you did hit it in the head with a book."

"Everyone likes me," she retorts.

James howls with laughter, which causes Lily to smile. She offers him a chip and he takes it.

"You're missing the game," she tells him, nodding toward the living room.

"I don't mind," he says, never taking his eyes off of her.

* * *

Lily feels like she's about to die. Actually she feels like she's about to throw up, which is even worse. The flu is killing her. Reaching for the trashcan besides her bed, she vomits her lunch into that before flopping back on the bed. The door clicks open and Lily can't be bothered to care if it's a burglar or not.

"Good morning, sunshine," Sirius greets her. It's worse than a burglar.

"What do you want?" she moans.

"Is that any way to speak to someone who brought you your medicine?" he replies.

Lily glares at him. Marlene hadn't been able to pick up her prescription so apparently she'd sent Sirius to do it. Lily wishes she hadn't. Her medicine doesn't make her feel any better, and she's in no mood to hear Sirius' smart mouth right now.

"I also got you some things to settle your stomach because Marlene said it was bothering you," he tells her and Lily changes her mind. She loves Sirius right now. "There's take out in the fridge if you feel like eating later, and I've got you a heating pad for you because I figured it would make you feel better."

"You're my hero," she mutters, reaching for the medicine that will make her stomach feel better.

"Ah, Evans, you're gonna make me blush," Sirius says, fluttering his eyelashes. Lily rolls her eyes. "Anything else you need?"

"No," she answers. "I'm good."

"Call if you need anything," he tells her as she exits her bedroom.

* * *

It's Lily's first day back at work since she's gotten over the flue, and she is being called into her boss' office. Why does the universe hate her? This is something that could happen to only her. Gently, she knocks on the door before poking her head inside. Her boss waves her in.

"Lily, I'm glad you're feeling better," Mr. Thomson tells her. "I want to discuss your latest piece."

"What about it, sir?" she asks.

"Do you know why I push like I do, Lily?"

"Sir?"

"It's because I know what you're capable of," he explains. "And this piece is some of the most horrible shit I've ever read before."

Lily blushes.

"You have a boyfriend?" he asks.

"Sir?" Lily replies, astonished. "I, uh. . . .no, I don't."

"Right," he mutters. "Well is there a boy you're pinning over?"

"I wouldn't say pinning," she mumbles.

"Well, why don't you just go out with him and send me a piece that's worth my time, then?"

Lily's mouth falls open. Did he just say what she thought he said? What right does he have to poke around her in personal life? Then again, he does have a point. James had been occupying her brain more often than usual lately, and they'd been talking more often than usual.

"But, sir, my work-"

"Is suffering because of your lack of a relationship with whoever this is," he interrupts. "Now go on, Evans. Get out of my office and don't send me a piece of shit like this again."

"Yes, sir," Lily mumbles as she hurries from his office.

Back at her desk, she pulls out her phone. Before she can change her mind, she texts James and doesn't look at her phone until she goes home.

* * *

Lily straightens her black dress and makes sure that her hair is fixed properly. She wishes she had more time to get ready, but unfortunately for her, time has run out. The doorbell rings. Quickly she hurries to open it.

When she had texted James earlier that week, she hadn't exactly specified that this was a 'date' date. Instead, she'd just told him that she need someone to go to a work thing with her, which was true.

"You look beautiful," James tells her with a smile.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she responds. In fact, he looks amazing in a suit, and why is she just now finding this out?

"Shall we, m'lady?" he asks, offering her his arm.

"We shall," she answers, slipping her hand into the crook of his arm.

"I'm sorry this is such short notice," Lily says when they reach the car.

"Don't worry about it," James replies. "Besides, I told you to call me if you ever needed anything. That includes work emergencies, too."

Lily doesn't have a reply to that and is glad when James starts talking about a football team that he likes. She gives him directions as they drive, but for the most part, she wonders why in the world they get along so well. Maybe it's one of those weird personality things—the ones where complete stranger who have known each other for five minutes turn out to be best friends.

"This is it," Lily tells him as the come up on a tall building with a parking garage next to it.

"You've got a big office," he mutters.

"It's not all us," she replies. "We're on one of the top floors."

"Still."

After they've parked, Lily shows him inside the building and they take the elevator to the thirty-first floor. All the while, Lily fidgets with her clothing, trying to make sure everything is perfect.

"Are you alright?" James asks.

"Yeah," she answers, nearly jumping out of her skin. "Just nervous about seeing my boss is all."

"Well, if you need someone to punch him for you, I'll do it," he offered.

Lily laughs. "Thanks, but I can do that myself."

A smile lights up James' face as the elevator opens. Mary is the first of her colleagues to come and greet her.

"Hey, Lily," she exclaims. "And who is this?"

"Mary, this is James," Lily introduces them. "James, Mary."

"Lovely to meet you, James," Mary says. "I'm sure Lily hasn't caught you up on all the gossip yet, so I'll go ahead and do that. Alright, so that girl over there. . ."

Lily holds in her laughter as James is dragged away by her friend to be told about all the gossip in their paper. Shaking her head, she moves over to the refreshments table to grab some punch. While she is doing so, Mr. Thomson steps up next to her.

"So is that the man that was taking your mind off of your work?" he asks, nodding to James, who is talking to Benjy Fenwick.

"Yeah," she mutters. "How'd you guess?"

"Saw you come in with him," he answers. "Loved your piece about Riddle, by the way. He's as corrupt as they come."

Lily lets her chest with pride as her watches her boss disappear into the crowd of people.

"You're a horrible person," James mutters, appearing by her side.

"Why is that?" Lily replies with a smirk.

"Do you realize how many stories about so many different people I had to hear?" he says. "Mary knows everything."

"That's why she runs the gossip column."

* * *

Lily stands in front of the door to her flat. The rest of the night went well. Thankfully, there were no more mentions about James from her boss, and Lily made sure that James wasn't monopolized by any more of her co-workers.

"This was fun," she mutters, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, most of it," he says. "I never want to hear about Jax Waton's bypass surgery again though."

Lily laughs. Poor James. Mary really did torture him.

"Thanks for coming with me," she tells him. "I know it was short notice and everything."

"It's alright," he replies. "I don't mind."

They're both grinning stupidly at each other and Lily hates it because it's so cliché. So instead of keeping this stupid smile on her face, she leans forwards, wraps an arm around his neck, and kisses James Potter. He's obviously surprised by this, but not for long. He pushes her back into her door and kisses her fiercely. He's a better kisser than she thought that he would be.

But he doesn't keep up his swift pace for long. Instead, he slows down and tastes her mouth like they have all the time in the world. They really don't though, because Lily has never been a patient person. Quickly, she detaches herself from his mouth and latches onto his neck, sucking roughly before soothing it with her tongue. This drawls a moan from James. He gently removes her keys from her hand and clumsily tries to push it into the lock while Lily kisses him.

Finally, he manages to unlock the door and pushes it open. Lily backs up into the flat and James slams the door behind them. Some time during all this, James has managed to get Lily's attention away from his neck and is kissing her lips again. For a moment, they just stand there and enjoy the feel of each other—Lily's lips against his, James' hands on her hips, her hands tangled in his shirt. Part of her wants to kill herself because she could have been experiencing this for months now.

"James," she mumbles as he kisses down her throat. His hands find her hair, and he gently takes it down from its bun. Slowly, his hands run down her back until they return to her hips and pull her snug against him. Lily steps back and pulls him with her until they reach the bedroom. Unfortunately, they have to come up for air. So James' lips once again travel down her neck.

While he does this, Lily's fingers start to work on his shirt. (Somehow he has lost his jacket and tie even though Lily can't remember removing them.) At least, she is able to touch his chest, which is rather nice. His dark skin seems to shine in the moonlight. She's finally able to get more than a glimpse of his defined chest. A groan escapes her mouth when she spots the happy trail leading below his trousers. She feels James smirk as he nips at her neck. Then he's pushing the shoulders of her dress down her arms and she swears she's going to die if he goes any slower.

"Your bra is pink," he mutters suddenly.

"So?" she replies breathlessly.

"I want to see it," he says simply.

Then his hands move to the back of the dress and tug on the zipper. Now she knows he's teasing her because a smirk is falling over his lips as he pulls her zipper down. She nips at his neck to make him hurry up. It has the desired affect. Her zipper is down in an instant and James slips the dress off of her.

"Pretty," he mutters, as he runs a hand across the pink lace. "Do you always wear things like this, Evans?"

"Sometimes," she answers coyly.

Her lips are against his again as she flops back on the bed. Lily reaches down and starts to undo his belt. It's a struggle since there isn't enough space between them to do much, but she finally gets it undone and goes onto his pants.

Fire lights up in her stomach as her name falls from James' lips. His hands traveling down her body, sending chills running down her spine. Her back arches when he runs his hand over her covered clit. Quickly, she grabs his hand and he stills completely. Ever so gently, she reaches up and takes his glasses off then lays them on the nightstand.

A smile slips onto his face for a moment then he returns to running his fingers over her clit. A gasp slips out of her mouth and she hates to think of how he got so good at his. Once his pants are gone, her fingers twist in the happy trial that leads to the bulge underneath his boxers. A groan comes from James' lips.

Immediately, his hands find the edge of her knickers and yank them down her legs. She manages to kick them off when they get past her knees. He starts to lower himself down her body, but she stops him.

"You can play later," she tells him. "Condom."

"Right," he mutters before getting up and looking for his trousers.

"By the door," Lily says helpfully as she undoes her bra. She scoots back on the bed as James goes through his wallet. He finally locates what he's looking for.

Lily leans back on her elbows and smiles at him when he looks nervous at the sight of her. Slowly, he crawls up the bed. Lily takes his face in her hands and kisses him gently, trying to reassure him—trying to make him see that this was going to work. Then he's pushing into her and she's gasping into his mouth because she's never felt like this before—never felt like she needed to be this close to someone.

"Lily," he mutters against her collar bone, and she moans because her name sounds ragged on his tongue and she didn't realize she had that effect on him.

"More," she manages to get out and he moves again filling her completely.

Her nails dig into his back, but he doesn't mind. In fact, he groans and thrusts roughly into her. Another moan leaves her lips as she arches her back. His hands find her breast and palm them roughly. Lily swears she's going to shatter into a million pieces if he keeps this up. His head lowers so he can close his mouth around her nipple, but he's not finished driving her crazy yet. His hand lowers and find her clit.

Lily gasps as she realizes that it is over. Swiftly, James thrusts in her. That combined with the incredible sensation of his mouth around her nipple and his hand on her clit sends her over the edge. Her body rides the waves of ecstasy. Her back arches, her toes curl, she moans his name loudly, and lets herself be lost to the pleasure that she is sure only James Potter can give her.

* * *

The bed is cold when she wakes up, which is odd. Sitting up, she finds that not only is her bed empty, but James' clothes are gone.

This leaves Lily utterly confused.

She calls James the next day, but she gets his voicemail. Shrugging, she leaves a message.

"Hey, it's Lily. I wanted to talk to you about last night, but I realized that I didn't know where you lived so I just decided to call you. Anyway, I'm free this evening if you want to meet me around five in the park across street from the my flat. You can always call me if you want to talk earlier or if you can't come around that time. I'll let you go now. See you soon."

* * *

Lily spots James rather easily. He's sitting on a bench with his leg bouncing rapidly. He doesn't see her until she's a few feet from him. When he does spot her, he stands up immediately, rubbing his hands on the front of jeans.

"Hey-"

"I'm sorry," he interrupts her. "I woke up and I just panicked. I didn't want you to think I was in it for the sex. I wasn't. I mean, I'm not. I mean, I wasn't there for sex. I didn't even intent to have sex with you, but it was rather nice. Never mind, that's not the point. Anyways, I was going to call you, but then I couldn't. And I was going to text you, but that seemed so impersonally. So I was going to-"

Lily can't help but think about how cute James looks when he is rambling. So she puts him out of his misery. She leans up and kisses him gently on the lips. His hands find her waist and tug her against his body, letting her feel those lines against her yet again.

When she pulls away, she smiles. "I wasn't going to get mad at you, and I knew you weren't there for the sex. You're not that kind of person. I was confused, yeah, but that's all cleared up now. So how about that date? Does that offer still stand?"

"Of course, it does."

Then James kisses her again.


End file.
